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February 21st - Tripoli's Long Night

It is a real genocide whether it is in the eastern cities of Libya or whether what is going now in Tripoli. The information that we are receiving from the people in Tripoli is the regime is killing whoever goes out to the streets… He has his mercenaries everywhere in the streets and whenever any demonstrator appears they just kill them. At least they shoot them, whether they kill them or not, but they are shooting them.

As the rebellion in Libya enters it's sixth month and the UN/NATO intervention enters it's fifth month it would be good to recollect some of the key events that got us here. This narrative is especially important for those that don't know this history and want to understand what is going on with Libya now.

The Libyan youth movement had called for a "Day of Rage" against the Qaddafi regime on February 17th. The people were more than ready to throw off 41 years of Qaddafi rule and the response was amazing. Protests were already breaking out all over Libya as early as Feb. 14-15.

Things can move extremely fast in a revolutionary period and now they moved with blinding speed. From the very beginning Qaddafi met peaceful protests with live fire, and as protesters fought back, he upped the level of violence dramatically. Still by the evening of Sunday, February 20th, it was being reported that Benghazi had fallen to the rebellion.

The next day, Monday, February 21th was a very long day in Tripoli. Qaddafi was absolutely brutal. He fought back hard with cold steel and fire. And nowhere less than Tripoli. It now appears that something like 700 people were brutally murdered by Qaddafi in Tripoli that day.

In this diary I have recounted in minute-by-minute detail some of the key events surrounding that day. To do this I have relied heavy on the AJE live blog, the WST Libya blog, Twitter, and other sources. Of special interest is some of the eyewitness reporters about these event that are starting to make their way to safety and speak out like this Tripoli mortuary eyewitness or this Libyan from Tripoli that spoke to AJE in Misrata.

Residents reported gunfire in parts of Tripoli and one political activist said warplanes had bombed the city. But state TV showed government supporters rallying and Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said warplanes had hit only ammunition dumps.

Forces loyal to Gaddafi had killed dozens of people across the country, human rights groups and witnesses said, prompting widespread condemnation from world leaders.

No independent verification of the reports was available and communications with Libya from outside were difficult.

"What we are witnessing today is unimaginable. Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead," Adel Mohamed Saleh said in a live broadcast on al Jazeera television. "Anyone who moves, even if they are in their car, they will hit you."

Libyan man shares proof of violence in Tripoli. Ali, who has returned to his hometown of Misurata, narrates a video about the horrors that he faced in Libyan capital. He took it on Feb 20, When people in Tripoli went to Green Sq to demonstrate after hearing that Qaddafi had fled to Venezuela.

THE TIMELINE

Sunday, February 20 [Tripoli time]

21:52 Opposition groups were twitting about the "capture of Benghazi." Other tweets indicate that Benghazi's al-Birka barracks had been breached with a TNT charge. A part of the army in Benghazi has come over to the rebels. Eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch that at least 10,000 protesters had been in the streets of Benghazi earlier that day after the funerals of the 84 protesters shot dead the day before.

22:38 Al Jazeera reports that Libya’s Arab League envoy Abdel Moneim al-Honi quits saying “I have submitted my resignation in protest against the acts of repression and violence against demonstrators [in Libya] and I am joining the ranks of the revolution.” Judges are also protesting in Tripoli. Qaddafi's regime appears to be falling down around his ears. Minutes later it is being reported that Minister of Public Security, Lieutenant Abdel Fatah Younis El Obeidi, has joined opposition. It is also being reported that the “Warfala tribe is beginning to rise, they are a big tribe covering east and west”

23:21 BBC reporting “at least four separate” protests in Tripoli, citing witnesses. Security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas. Gunfire in Tripoli is reportedly extremely heavy. The anti-Qaddafi forces are reported to be making a "valiant" effort in Tripoli as Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the world’s “foremost Sunni Muslim scholar,” is urging all of Libya to take to the streets.

Monday, February 21

00:14 Libyan State TV says Saif Qaddai to address the nation "shortly." Twitter is all ablaze with rumors of Qaddafi leaving. Example: "Reason #12 For Gaddafi’s son to take so long: Daddy’s tent still being folded!"

00:33 AJE says reports suggest the 500,000-strong Tuareg tribe in south Libya has heeded the call from the million-strong Warfala tribe to join the uprising. Protesters in Ghat and Ubary, home to Libyan Tuareg clans are reportedly attacking government buildings and police stations. As minutes pass waiting Qaddafi's son to speak, so many are sure of his imminent departure that Tripoli has already begun to celebrate.

01:00 Saif Qaddafi is on TV. It is a rambling unprepared speech. "Citizens tried to attack the army and they were in a situation that was difficult. The army was not used to dealing with riots," he says. "Libyan citizens died and this was a tragedy."

01:51 Al Arabiya is reporting that “the Egyptian news service MENA is reporting” Muammar al-Qaddafi has left Libya and is on his way to Venezuela amidst fresh reports of gunfire in Tripoli. Shortly after Saif Qaddafi's speech the rebels were tweeting that the Werfalla tribe, the largest in Libya according to some, was siding with Qaddafi and that "Tripoli is under siege." Then the tweets started saying they had reversed themselves and joined the rebellion. The situation is very fluid.

002:31 Full text of Gaddafi’s “address to the nation,” via BBC Monitoring: “I am satisfied, because I was speaking in front of the youth in the Green Square tonight, but the rain came praise to God it bears well. I want to clarify for them that I am in Tripoli not in Venezuela. Do not believe these channels they are dogs. Goodbye.”

06:49A Libyan American spoke with his brother in Tripoli, who described - over the sound of heavy gunfire - the intense combat that has broken out in the capital, where anti-government protesters were attacked after taking the main square. A caller from Libya describes the forces that have shot at protesters in Tripoli's Green Square as "the special militia that is guarding Qaddafi".

12:07 Reports from news agencies, Twitter - and witnesses speaking directly to Al Jazeera - are painting a picture of semi-chaos overnight in Tripoli. It appears that some protesters from nearby towns converged on the city, and thousands from the capital itself turned out as well. They were allowed to march to the central Green or Martyrs' Square, which they occupied briefly before being confronted by security forces and pro-Qaddafi protesters, who came out in force after a late-night speech by Saif al-Qaddafi. This video includes footage of the burning of a police station Souq Al Jummah, Tripoli. Sporadic gunshots – possibly sniper fire – can be heard during the pre-dawn hours in Tripoli.

16:17 Reuters reports the Libyan justice minister has resigned in support of the protests.

16:40 Four helicopters reported to be circling Green Square, where protesters have gathered in central Tripoli.

16:51 Qaddafi's security forces reportedly surround the home of Jumaa Al Ousta - general secretary of Libya's trade and industry chamber. They are threatening to burn it down, after he was critical of Qaddafi in an interview with Al Jazeera.

16:58 A Libyan consul secretary, a translator and a receptionist have quit their jobs at the embassy in Stockholm. In a letter, they write:

We condemn the genocide of civilians taking place in Libya following their legitimate demands of life in dignity and without the despot Gadaffi's continued mismanagement and corruption.

We find the situation unbearable: we don't want to be passive when we see that people rise up against the tyrant despite the obvious risk that their blood is spilled. Therefore we resign in protest and urge others to make their voices heard.

17:40 Two civilian helicopters, followed by two Libyan fighter jets, have landed in Malta. Only one of at least seven passengers are reported to be carrying passports. Karl Stagno-Novarra, AJ's correspondent in Malta, reports the pilots of the jet fighters that landed there are "senior colonels", who were ordered to bomb protesters. The defected pilots reportedly tell Maltese officials they were based in Tripoli and ordered to attack protesters on the ground in Benghazi. After seeing their fellow pilots begin the airstrikes, they diverted course toward Malta.

18:30 Planes of the Libyan Air Force reportedly opening fire on protesters in central Tripoli. Further reports of live ammunition being used on protesters in Tripoli, with lots of tweets saying security forces are again driving cars around the city, shooting at everyone and everything.

18:38 Venezuelan officials deny Gaddafi is on his way there.

18:46 Al Jazeera signal inside Libya is being blocked. Blockage is traced to Libyan intelligence building, south of Tripoli. The networks website is also being blocked.

19:09 All land-based and wireless communications are reported cut in Libya Within the hour Dutch ISP provider XS4ALL has set up an Internet dial-up service for Libya and login credentials are being circulated by the resistance. The Libyan ambassador to Indonesia has also resigned.

19:55 According to Al Jazeera a large march in Tripoli in the afternoon was attacked by military aircraft and security forces using live ammunition. A political activist reports

"There is death, fear - and women are crying everywhere. The strikes are concentrated against areas that sent large number of protesters to the streets and there are cars full of foreign fighters firing on people." He says at least 250 people were killed in the past 24 hours alone and is calling for international help. He tells us Tripoli is "under siege by foreign fighters" - that water and electricity have been cut and there is a shortage of food and medical supplies. "It is a genocide," he says.

20:16 Libyan ambassador to Bangladesh confirms his resignation to AJA.

20:30 Al Jazeera obtains this recording of a phone call from a woman in Tripoli.

20:53 AJA reports Libyan ambassador to the EU resigns

21:09 AJE reports “Ibrahim Dabbashim Libya’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, tells Al Jazeera if Gaddafi does not get out, ‘the people will kick him out.’”

21:47 BBC: Libya’s diplomats at the United Nations for international intervention to end the crisis. The deputy ambassador, Ibrahim Omar Al Dabashi, told BBC World that Col Gaddafi’s government was carrying out a genocide. [AJE YouTube video] Ali al-Essawi, ambassador to India, has resigned. He has accused the government of deploying foreign mercenaries against Libyan citizens.

21:49 AFP: Eyewitnesses are reporting a “massacre” in the Fashloum and Tajoura districts of Tripoli. AJA: New airstrikes have hit Al Joumhouria [The republic] Street in Tripoli.

22:13 Arabiya TV: Libyan military source confirms orders were issued for the aerial bombardment of Benghazi within the past 2 1/2 hours.

22:54 Reported AJA update on the air strikes: Air strikes happening in Zawiya currently; Two fighter jets land in Benghazi after their pilots refuse

23:00 Libyan state TV says "security forces have begun an extensive operation against dens of vandals".

00:33 Saif Gaddafi, also known among the opposition as Muammar’s “mini-me”, also comes on State TV and denies warplanes bombed populated areas in Tripoli and Benghazi, says targets were ammunition depots in remote areas. There are also reports that Libyan border guards have abandoned the eastern border with Egypt although not on State TV. Reuters reports that the Egyptian army's Facebook page says the Egypt-Libya border is now open.

00:34 Al Jazeera writes on their blog"Images of bodies gutted in the attacks are too harrowing to be shown. Our colleagues on the TV side of the newsroom have had to pixellate the bloodied bodies, where limbs have been hacked off and torsos maimed."

00:41 Libyan State TV is airing "confessions" by Tunisians in Libya saying they were behind the uprising.

The faltering government of the Libyan strongman Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi struck back at mounting protests against his 40-year rule, as security forces and militiamen backed by helicopters and warplanes besieged parts of the capital Monday, according to witnesses and news reports from Tripoli.

By Monday night, witnesses said, the streets of the capital, Tripoli, were thick with special forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi as well as mercenaries. They shot freely as planes dropped what witnesses described as “small bombs” and helicopters fired on protesters, making further demonstrations against the government impossible for the moment.